Tired of constantly replenishing your cat’s toy box? These cheap cat toys are a dime a dozen.
Cheap cat toys are easy to come by, but they’re not so easy to keep. Despite their low price and amazing value, not to mention how much your cat loves them, these toys disappear within days.
Around The Meow Place, cheap cat toys disappear in hours. Tippy and Misha are either knocking them under the stove, fridge and dishwasher, or they’re destroying them as soon as I put them down. Talk about a waste of money!
I, like many cat owners, have come to find that it’s the stuff you’ve already got laying around your home that provides the most joy and entertainment for your kitty. Here are ten amazingly cheap cat toys that you already have on hand.
1. Bottle Caps
If you want a great toy for your cat to play with that’s super cheap and easy to come by, bottle caps are it. You get them every time you visit the grocery store, not to mention that half of the items in your cupboards have them.
As long as the bottle caps aren’t small enough for your cat to swallow or get stuck in their mouth, let them play! This toy works best on floors without carpeting, FYI.
2. Balls
Stop laughing. STOP LAUGHING. Now that you’ve got your mind out of the gutter, balls are a fun, roly-poly toy for your kitty. This cheap cat toy can be a baseball, ping pong ball or a used EOS chapstick (they come in round containers).
Once again, make sure they’re not so small that your cat chokes on them. As long as you don’t mind a little more noise when they play with them, balls are a reusable source of entertainment (stop it).
3. Chapstick Tubes
Speaking of chapstick, any type of chapstick tube can be a cheap cat toy. Misha and Tippy enjoy stealing tubes of chapstick even when we don’t let them have it, and many have gone missing.
Neither cat has ever tried to swallow a tube of chapstick, either on purpose or accidentally, so the size doesn’t really matter. Most chapsticks are big enough to be uncomfortable when cats try to eat them (if they ever do).
4. Ponytails
We bet you’ve already guessed this one. Like the chapstick, ponytails seem to become lost quite rapidly around here. Cats LOVE ponytails. If you don’t already have some laying around the house, you can get a pack of 24 for only $3.
Average size ones will do. Go through your makeup and accessories, and you’re bound to find quite a few you’re not using.
5. Ribbons
These are not as easy to come by, but ribbons are pretty popular with cats. I’m not just talking about any ribbons – you can’t give your cat a plastic or paper ribbon that will cut the roof of their mouth.
Fabric ribbons made of soft material come standard with a lot of gift boxes and gift bags. Simply take them off of the box or bag, make sure there aren’t any beads or plastic attached to them, and let kitty play.
6. Paper Towel Rolls
As weird as it may sound, some cats like playing with paper towel rolls. Tippy has chewed up so many that we never really have a surplus of paper towel rolls. You can also use toilet paper tubes.
If you want, you can make a treat puzzle and other toys by following these instructions from Catster.
7. Paper… Just Paper
I don’t even know why we buy Post-It notes. There’s always a kitty trying to run off with every single one we use. While I wouldn’t recommend laying out a flat piece of printer paper, you can crumple one up into a ball and toss it around for your feline friend.
Cats will go nuts over packing paper too, like the stuff that comes in Amazon boxes. The only ones more easily entertained by packing paper than cats are the humans who watch them play with it.
8. Shoelaces
Don’t worry – you don’t have to sacrifice your favorite pair of sneakers in order to please your cat. You just have to find the pair of laces you stowed away that you never used.
Honestly, a pair of shoelaces costs a whopping $0.99 most places, but if you really can’t shell out the cash, ask someone to donate a pair. Either that, or it’s time to clean out your closet.
9. Grocery Bags
Apologies to anyone who uses recyclable grocery bags – you’re really missing out! Paper bags can mean hours and hours of fun to a cat, so pick up an extra one the next time you go shopping.
If you’re like me, you probably save plastic bags like a mad fiend. While cats love these grocery bags too, I advise that you supervise playtime when it comes to plastic. Cats can get tangled up or swallow bits of plastic. That really isn’t going to hurt them, but I like my peace of mind better than a hefty vet bill.
10. Boxes
We wouldn’t leave boxes out! Boxes are like mansions to cats. After all, who wouldn’t love having their own private castle as a secret hideaway?
Funny enough, there’s actually a scientific reason why cats love cardboard boxes so much. Cardboard traps body heat, so if you see your cat snuggling inside a cardboard box, it’s because they love the warm and toasty feeling.
Does your cat have a favorite cheap cat toy? Let us know in the comments section below!
